Puerto Montt, Chile: Fresh Seafood

Flapping fish tails, coiled seaweed, barnacles and octopus fresh from the Chilean coastal town of Puerto Montt will soon become part of our gastronomical lunch.

At the southern end of the Pan American Highway – with 30,000+ miles from the top of Alaska to this scenic town – we met Chef Richard Knobloch, serving locals and visitors his individually prepared gourmet meals.

We walked in the rain with Chef Knobloch to the local fishmongers, and he selected the freshest fish while explaining the varieties and offered us a sample of local sea urchin! Next we stopped at Juanita’s organic farm, picking the day’s best produce for our grand meal – including raspberries for dessert.

Chef Knobloch, a transplanted German, cooked the meal in his restaurant, A Fuego Lento, a few miles away on the edge of the lake resort town Puerto Varas. Settled by Germans in the 1900s, Bavarian-style houses overlook the lake, part of Chile’s diverse flavor.

As the chef created his scrumptious meal of ceviche (barnacle, mussels, octopus and seaweed), fish soup and Chilean hake fish, restaurant owner Marisol prepared his specialty drinks of pisco sour and pisco avocado using handmade liqueurs.